How should the -> and :: be pronounced? Reading the characters themselves in cumbersome and I don't know of any nicknames for them. Being a developer who is used to C-style syntax, I'd like to say "dot", but I'd like something that is easy to say and people can easily understand.

It would also be good to know if there are any pronunciations that have become de-facto standards among teams of developers.

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Is this just what you call them, or do others to whom you use these terms to use the same pronunciation?
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NickCFeb 1 '11 at 17:45

1

The arrow, yes. "dot" for :: I have only heard in one place (in college between myself and classmates) so that may or may not be common. I don't know what else but "double-colon" to call it if it's anywhere but in the class-function context, but it makes sense there. Anyone who knows C++ will know how to write a function def.
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Michael KFeb 1 '11 at 17:53

Guess I should've included that in my answer. It is now.
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Michael KFeb 1 '11 at 17:55

@MichaelK, Shouldn't -> be called the dot and :: be called the dot dot?
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PacerierMar 12 at 7:01

Thanks for bringing up =>, that's interesting. Never heard rocket but it makes sense to differentiate. I have usually said colon colon too, but the repetition and 4 syllables make it sound really awkward to me.
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NickCFeb 1 '11 at 17:48

1

=> in foreach I read as 'for each $array as $key indicating $value'. In array definitions I don't read it.
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MchlFeb 1 '11 at 18:01

@Mchl for some reason I think I read it as "goes to" in that sentence.
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NickCFeb 1 '11 at 18:22

6

+1 I think we can all agree that nobody wants a mouthful of colon.
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Anna Lear♦Feb 1 '11 at 19:45

@Ben - but is that how you read it? "User Manager scope resolution operator get instance"? Official name is different than pronunciation.
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NickCFeb 1 '11 at 19:23

1

@Renesis, that's a valid point I suppose. In speaking I would probably say something like "Make sure you include User Manager _slight-pause_ Get Instance or it's not going to work." Of course it all depends on the context. Who am I talking to? Do they know the language/codebase? etc.
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Ben LFeb 1 '11 at 19:28

@Ben: How about the possessive? Example: "Make sure you include User Manager's Get Instance or it's not going to work"
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FrustratedWithFormsDesignerFeb 1 '11 at 19:45

Nice question. I've myself called -> "pointer to" or "call" depending on if it's a pointer to a structure or the calling of a method.

As for the ::, I've never really had a name for that, but I suppose you could say "class member to", so it would read "UserManager class member to method getInstance". Though to each his own I suppose.

I don't pronounce these at all, not least because it should be clear from context. So I'd say your examples as "controller process" and "UserManager getInstance". If I needed to be painfully obvious, I'd pronounce -> as "arrow", but I've never had any need to pronounce ::, and I've been tutoring CS students for three years.

"point" is pretty good too, but I still think I like "dart" better, for its similitude to most languages use of "dot".

:: and => still trip my tounge :/

EDIT only just now, I was reading the other answers again, and I thought about "colon-colon" and how I could shorten it to "co-colon", then "coco" which made me think of "coca-cola" and then "cola", which flows a bit better, but is quite removed. "CoCo" is also a nickname for "Conan O'Brian" so, maybe "Conan" for a quite removed, very brief alias for the "double colon"

In reality my upvote here is not for being the correct answer, althought I do really like "dart", but for bringing a huge smile to my face with "CoCo" which happens all too infrequently these days.
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Night OwlMar 21 '13 at 2:45

I also like 'dart' better than arrow. Of course there are a few kinds which makes it a bit confusing.. Maybe something along these lines:
(If leaving out right or left assume right as English is left to right language)